Altruism is fascinating. Partly because it goes against what we understand of human nature —that people inherently desire the greatest amount of instant gratification with the least amount of effort. As I wrote recently, what separates us from our ape cousins is this very desire for instant gratification. Humans, because we have a better-developed pre-frontal cortex, can assess second, third, or even fourth order consequences of any given action, and CHOOSE to inject self-discipline in favor of a longer term outcome (i.e. pain now, gain later). The pre-frontal cortex is involved with planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision-making, and moderating social behavior; all of which, as it turns out, are highly involved in the desire and decision to be altruistic.

As a management consultant, my success hinges upon radical honesty. When a consultant is brought in, it’s usually because an injection of truth is required. As Albert Einstein put it best: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

I have been considering what it takes to manifest more of what I want into my life. This led me to question: am I worthy of what I want? And how does one determine self-worth or self-value anyway? The whole endeavor sounds like a big ego trip.

I want to bring together a couple of disparate ideas, some spiritual, some scientific, some empirical. By the end of this post I hope to have inspired you to consider meditation as a way of tapping into more fulfillment in your life. What’s covered:

I deactivated my Facebook profile. Why? Because no one cares. Well, actually, if you’re reading this post and have found your way here to my personal blog, you may care. But by and large, people will not.

If you desire my substantiation, or thoughtful reasons why you may want to do the same, here are a couple of reasons why I’ve taken my ~10 year old profile down.

The life of an entrepreneur is not a particularly easy one. Doors open one day and for weeks or months new ones can remain shut. When doors are shut and no amount of knocking will open them, there’s nothing to lean on but certainty. Sometimes that certainty stems from a distant reminder of when a door unexpectedly flung open in the past. Other times that certainty borders on mania, stemming from nothing more than an inexplicable knowing from within. People sometimes remark to me of their admiration of how far I’ve come as an entrepreneur (how far is actually debatable, but that’s a separate post). I share with them that where I am today is a combination of knowing (mania) and knowing I have no choice. Truth be told, a lot of my accomplishments have come from being put between a rock and a hard place by life, with little or no choice but to go down an entrepreneurial path (doesn’t sound that inspired, huh?).

It’s been quite a while since I’ve picked up my proverbial pen and sat down to write a blog post. Anyone who understands me well also understands that my mind is constantly abuzz with information, thoughts, and ideas. But for whatever reason I’ve lately been unable or unwilling to take a breather —and a moment—to express myself. It’s been a compounding problem, as I’ll soon explain. Over lunch yesterday with a dear and long-time friend who I hadn’t seen in a while, I was offered some simple and valuable advice: just start writing. And so I am.

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SheBytes is a technology blog dedicated to exploring startups, investigating new gadgets, and providing you with the latest tech and business news. Founded by Renee Schmidt, the tech blog features articles by industry experts that aim to keep you up to date on the latest trends.